A Road Trip to Somewhere
by sashsweetie
Summary: House, Cameron, and Thirteen go to a conference in Pittsburgh. A relationship develops. Starts between seasons 4 and 5 and doesn't follow the show. Camteen/Cadley. Finished.
1. The Way to Pittsburgh

"Where I go I just don't know, I got to, got to, gotta take it slow. When I find my piece of mind, I'm gonna give you some of my good…" Cameron reached forward from her place in the driver's seat and flicked the radio off, cutting through House's singing.

"Thank you." Thirteen breathed from the back seat, pinching the bridge of her nose. Cameron looked in her rear view mirror at the other woman. She looked exhausted, House having made her work the night shift before they left for the conference.

"You guys suck." House whined.

"It's not my fault you can't sing." Thirteen snapped.

"She has a point there." Cameron grinned at her former boss, slapping his hand away from her car radio. "And you're the one who made her work last night, so now you get to deal with the repercussions. No music. Dr. Hadley needs to sleep."

"Thank God." The brunette grabbed her jacket from beside her and bundled it up against the window and leaning against it.

"You're disturbingly nice, you know that?" House informed Cameron in the front seat. She shrugged.

"I get the benefit of not having to listen to you sing." She pointed out.

House grumbled and stared out the window grumpily.

They pulled over in a small town a few hours later for lunch. "Thirteen!" House jolted the younger woman out of her sleep. "Food!" He climbed out of the car.

Thirteen looked out the window to discover they were stopped in the parking lot of a restaurant. She yawned. "Where are we?"

"About half way" Cameron replied. "House was whining, so…" she shrugged.

Thirteen nodded. "Food would be good."

"Come on!" House called from the doorway. Cameron rolled her eyes and got out of the car, followed by a drowsy Thirteen.

"Less than 72 hours to go." Thirteen mumbled under her breath grumpily.

Cameron grinned, catching her eye. "I know, right?"

Later that afternoon they made it to their hotel in Pittsburgh. Thirteen handed out their room keys. "You and I are in 1401." She informed Cameron. "And you," she tossed House's key at him, "are in 1403."

"Oh, goodie. Next door so I can hear you two have sex. I won't even need to order porn."

"Don't wear anything out." Thirteen lowered her gaze to certain parts of House's anatomy and grinned at him before stalking off towards the elevator. Cameron's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the comment, but she didn't say anything as she followed the other woman into the elevator, leaving House in the lobby.

"At least we have a few House-free hours before the reception." She commented to the other woman as they whizzed through the floors.

Thirteen smiled at her. "Agreed. I need more sleep."

"I was going to check out the pool and the hot-tub, myself."

"Nice." Thirteen opened the door to their room. "Bed preference?" she asked.

Cameron shook her head, so Thirteen chucked her bag on the closest one and climbed onto it, removing her shoes as she went.

Cameron put hers on the desk and started rooting through it for her bathing suit. She loved hotels with pools!

Thirteen was stunned as Cameron emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later looking like some sort of model in a pale blue bikini. The woman was always wandering around in scrubs, and she'd never really taken the time to notice she was hot!

Cameron noticed Thirteen looking at her and blushed. Thirteen looked away. "Nice bathing suit." She commented.

"Thanks!" Cameron smiled. "I'll see you later, okay? Sleep well." She wrapped a towel around herself and exited the room, leaving Thirteen to different sorts of dreams than she'd been expecting.

"Ready to go?" Thirteen emerged from the bathroom to find Cameron flipping through the conference agenda on her bed.

"Yep. Do you think we need to bother making reservations somewhere for dinner?" she questioned. "We can just eat at the hotel, right?"

"Knowing House, probably not." Thirteen commented, hooking in earrings.

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Whatever, then he can make the reservations." She stood, smiling. "You look nice!"

"Thanks." Thirteen smiled. "I hate suits." She sighed, picking up her jacket from where it was hung over a chair.

Cameron eyed her with interest. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me." She commented. "Let's go get House."


	2. Lessons in Drinking

_A/N: I'm glad everyone is enjoying this one. I'm aiming for humour more than accuracy, so I hope you continue to like!! ___

"House?" Cameron knocked tentatively at the door, which was propped open by the deadbolt.

"Yeah!" Was the reply, causing her to push open the door and enter the room.

"You're wearing _jeans_ to the reception?" Thirteen asked him incredulously. House was sitting comfortably on his bed watching something on TV and evidently taking full advantage of the mini bar.

"No" he replied back just as incredulously, "I'm not _going_ to the reception."

Cameron groaned. "Seriously?" she asked in frustration.

House looked surprised. "It's not like its part of the conference, Cameron. Besides, I'm not exactly sociable, if you hadn't noticed."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever." She turned around and left the room.

"Your ass looks nice in those pants by the way!" House yelled after her.

Thirteen eyed the ass in question, getting more than a little distracted. She looked back up to House raising his eyebrows at her and decided to make a quick escape after Cameron. "At least this way we can avoid him for a few more hours and maybe actually enjoy the reception." She shrugged.

Cameron smiled in return. "Too true."

They made their way to the room where the reception was being held to discover that many people were already there, including only about four other women. Seeing this, Thirteen started by heading for the open bar, with Cameron in hot pursuit. They had barely sat down before being approached.

"Hi there." The tall blond guy addressed them, evidently being careful not to cut off options by speaking too specifically to either one. "I'm Jason McDonald."

Cameron picked up her champagne and took a sip. "Allison Cameron." She extended her hand, shaking his politely.

"Remy Hadley." Thirteen's interest was waning and she decided focusing on her wine was the best option.

"And you two are from…" another guy approached their seats, clapping Jason on the back.

"Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital." Thirteen looked up from her wineglass briefly. "Excuse us." She hopped off her stool and grabbed Cameron's arm, pulling her off into a corner of the room. "Ugh. It's like vultures." She whined. "Can we skip too?"

Cameron pondered for a minute. "Let's just take advantage of the free drinks for a bit and then find dinner, sans vultures."

Thirteen grinned. "Deal."

"Don't abandon me." Cameron warned.

Thirteen chuckled. "With that lot? As if." They made their way back to the bar.

Several glasses of champagne later, Cameron concluded she was on the verge of either severely insulting someone or embarrassing herself. She excused herself for a moment from the discussion and turned to address Thirteen, only to discover she had absented herself. Panicking slightly, Cameron looked around the room, locating Thirteen at the bar ordering another drink. "I'll be right back." She informed the group and bee-lined for her co-worker. "I'm a little drunk." She whispered to Thirteen, who smirked.

"That makes two of us and I think all of them." She gestured to the roomful of doctors. "Does this mean we can leave now?" she asked hopefully, starting on her drink.

Ally nodded. "I think we stayed long enough to be polite."

"Good." Thirteen polished off her drink and got down from her stool. "Let's go."

"I'll just say we're leaving." Cameron headed off in the direction of the group they'd been talking to, leaving Thirteen rolling her eyes at Cameron's need for politeness.

"So where are we going?" she asked as Cameron returned.

"Let's just ask the concierge for the name of a decent place near by." Cameron suggested.

"Sure. I have a hopeless sense of direction, so…" Thirteen trailed off.

Cameron chuckled. "We'll cab."

Cameron's phone rang as they walked into a cute little restaurant not far from the hotel. "Hello?" she questioned. "Hi, Chase." She rolled her eyes at Remy, who grinned in understanding. She'd forgotten about Chase. "Sorry, I decided to go swimming, and then there was the reception…" her voice was slightly slurred. She frowned slightly. "I'm at dinner with Dr. Hadley. We left House at the hotel." She listened for a moment. "Yes, Chase. I had drinks at the reception. Look, I've got to go, I'm being rude." she said as the waiter arrived to lead them to their table. "Yeah, okay. Bye." She hung up. "God, the man is _so_ paranoid." She said by way of apology to Thirteen.

"Guys usually are." Thirteen commented, opening up her menu.

"Bottle of wine?" Cameron questioned.

Thirteen raised an eyebrow. "What time does the conference start?"

Cameron grinned. "9 am, but it's only 8 now."

"Then sure."

One thing led to another, and by the time Thirteen suggested they go find a bar or club, Cameron was really in no mood to argue. You could attend a conference hung over, right? Luckily they were already downtown, so they didn't have far to go. Arm in arm they wandered up the street, examining the line-ups for groups of people in their own age group. After a little while they found a fancier looking one where their suit pants wouldn't look out of place.

Cameron was pretty sure she hadn't taken shooters since med school, but she was also _very_ sure she required them, even in her already drunken state, before getting onto a dance floor with Thirteen. Thus, after an adventure in alcohol guided by Thirteen's wide knowledge of shots, Allison Cameron was finally dragged, laughing, into dancing by a grinning brunette. "Tomorrow is going to be interesting!" she yelled.

"Painful would be my guess!" Thirteen yelled back, grabbing Cameron's hand and spinning her, causing Cameron to lose her balance and tip onto her. "You okay?" Thirteen laughed, as Cameron re-erected herself. Cameron gestured to her heels, her hand remaining on Thirteen's shoulder. Thirteen put a hand on her hip without thinking, and started moving Cameron with her to the music. Cameron made no objection, but instead started playing vaguely with Thirteen's hair as they danced.

It was Cameron, too, who murmured an invitation in her ear, smiling, as they sat at the bar taking more shots.

But it was Thirteen, afterwards, who reached up, tangling her hand in the blonde woman's hair as she pulled her down to kiss her gently. Cameron responded in kind, moving forward so she was between Thirteen's legs as the other woman sat on her barstool. "Shall we get a cab?" Thirteen questioned, taking Cameron's hand as she surfaced for air.

"I think we'd better." Cameron's eyes smiled down into hers. "Or I might do something that would get me into trouble."

They literally fell into the hotel room, laughing, in a tangle of bodies. "Oof." Thirteen untwined herself briefly to kick the door closed with her foot before returning to kissing Cameron passionately. Cameron wriggled away, leading Thirteen in a chase towards the bed as she divested herself of her shoes.

"I bet you'll like the bra I'm wearing." She murmured in the other woman's ear before getting pinned to the bed, laughing.

Thirteen woke to her phone ringing persistently the next morning. "'Lo?" she questioned sleepily. Cameron moved slightly beside her, and Thirteen put a gently hand on her back in warning.

"Late night?" The sarcastic voice was House's.

"Why?"

"There seemed to be a lot of giggling and crashing coming from your room last night." Thirteen blushed and stayed silent. "Anyway," House continued in an amused voice. "We have to be there in 45 minutes."

"Alright." Thirteen hung up the phone and curled back into bed beside her blond co-worker, setting her alarm for 15 minutes later. Half an hour would be plenty of time to get ready.

"Who was that?" Cameron murmured, turning to face her.

"My annoying boss." Thirteen responded, smiling.

"Hmm…" Cameron opened her eyes a little and groaned. "I need water." Thirteen chuckled and passed her a full glass from beside the bed. Cameron propped herself up on an elbow and chugged it quickly before lying back down and snuggling into Thirteen. She seemed completely unconcerned that she had woken up naked next to her female co-worker. Thirteen chose not to comment, but played with Cameron's hair quietly.

After a while she sighed. "We should shower."

Cameron opened an eye at this and smiled. "Together?"

A knock at the door caused Thirteen to abandon putting up her hair. "Yes, House?" she questioned, letting him into the room.

"You two totally went drinking without me." He whined.

"Maybe we would have invited you if you'd suffered through the reception with us." Thirteen commented, going back to pulling her wet hair up into a low bun. Cameron grinned from her bed, where she sat texting Chase good morning.

House snorted. "Whatever. Let's get this conference over with." He turned and limped back towards the hallway.

"I couldn't agree more." Cameron commented under her breath as she passed by the bathroom door, earning a soft laugh from Thirteen.


	3. Who Says You Have to Dance Standing Up?

Cameron and Thirteen both skipped lunch in favour of napping.

Over dinner, House suggested post-supping drinks to everyone else at the table, to the dismay of them both. Unfortunately, the rest of the table was in agreement of it being a good idea, and somehow House managed to drag them into joining in, despite the fact that both would have much rather curled up in bed with a movie. Thus how they ended up at a nearby bar, huddled together in a corner of the booth surrounded by males who were far too interested in them, much to House's amusement. "Irish car-bombs for the table!" House called to their waiter, beginning a raucous evening of drinks. Thirteen won a round of applause for that one, out-drinking the rest of the table. After a round of Jager-bombs and something else Cameron couldn't even claim to pronounce, she excused herself from the booth as pretence to escape the next set of drinks. Thirteen quickly grabbed her hand, letting herself be pulled off of the bench by the other woman.

"Want to cut and run?" she questioned as they stood in the hallway outside the bathroom. "I can't take much more of this."

Cameron nodded. "We can just pay House back tomorrow. I'm exhausted."

They snuck quietly out the front door, the men too ensconced in their drinks to notice their absence.

"Thank God." Thirteen announced, taking Cameron's hand as she flagged down a cab. It pulled over and they hopped in, naming their hotel. Cameron responded by laying her head gently against her shoulder.

"Movie?" Cameron asked, pulling off her shoes as they entered the hotel room.

"Yeah." Thirteen reached for her pyjama pants. Cameron was asleep in her lap before the opening credits even finished. "Well, that was productive." Thirteen commented to herself as she turned off the tv and curled up beside the other woman, who snuggled into her body heat, instinctively wrapping an arm around her.

"Morning, sunshine." Thirteen wrinkled her nose in protest to the concept of waking up, evoking a giggle from Cameron. Eyes still closed she reached in the direction of the other woman's voice, her arms searching out a waist and pulling Cameron back into bed with her. "It's already 10:30." Cameron murmured in her ear lazily.

"So? Bet House isn't up yet." Thirteen burrowed back into her pillow.

"Fair enough" Cameron sighed, wrapping an arm around the brunette. "Its not like we're in a hurry to get back."

Thirteen opened her eyes at that. "You don't want to get back to your _boyfriend_?"

Cameron smiled. "I'm rather enjoying myself here actually."

Thirteen was surprised. "I don't want to make this awkward or anything, but…" she trailed off, not really knowing where to take the sentence.

Cameron looked at her. "But I seem incredibly comfortable cheating on Chase?"

Thirteen nodded. "Yeah."

Cameron sighed. "Relationships are never what they appear to be from the outside." She said slowly, figuring she owed the other woman some form of explanation.

Thirteen raised an eyebrow. "So you aren't the perfect couple?" she joked.

"Evidently not." Cameron shook her head, gesturing to the two of them. "I never should have let things go so far with him." She commented, not looking at Thirteen, piquing her interest.

"Why?"

"I can never give him what he wants. I'm not that person. Inside me is still the party girl that came out when my husband died. The person who gets trashed and sleeps around. The one who doesn't want attachments."

Thirteen stayed silent. Cameron looked up at her cautiously, judging her reaction. Calmly, Thirteen reached up and ran a hand through Cameron's hair. It wasn't like she minded Cameron's apparent morality issues. She had enough of her own. Cameron smiled, capturing Thirteen's hand and kissing the palm gently before moving on to her lips. Thirteen rolled the other woman so Cameron was underneath, biting her neck gently. Cameron's breath began to come heavily in anticipation and she slid a hand beneath Thirteen's shirt, drawing her pristine nails across the flesh of her back. Thirteen grinned, pulling up Cameron's shirt so she could kiss her way down the other woman's stomach before slowly beginning to draw off her boxer shorts. Cameron tangled her hands in Thirteen's hair, tugging as Thirteen extended her tongue and drew Cameron's labia apart to gently touch her clit. Cameron moaned, her hips rising to meet Thirteen's mouth. "Oh!" Cameron breathed, surprised as Thirteen's tongue moved deeper to explore inside of her.

"Never done it with a girl before, Cameron?" Thirteen murmured. Cameron shook her head, running her nails up Thirteen's back as the brunette returned to her work. Cameron came quickly, her hips thrusting as Thirteen's tongue moved inside her. Thirteen moved back up her body, kissing her sweetly as Cameron lay breathless on the bed, her eyes dark with pleasure. They lay like that for a long time.


	4. Welcome to Kennywood!

_A/N: Well, I guess they'll just have to go to Kennywood then!!_

A knock at the door jerked the two women out of their comfortable silence. Cameron's eyes widened. "Shit." Thirteen murmured under her breath, rolling over in a search for the clothes that had been strewn across the bed. She threw Cameron's in her general direction and they dressed rapidly. Cameron ran for the door and opened it.

"Hey, House." She greeted the man on the other side, who, true to form, barged his way past her and into the room.

"Took you long enough." He said snidely, taking in the _one_ messy bed and smirking. Thirteen caught the direction of his gaze and his expression and mentally smacked herself in the head. "You ditched me last night." House pouted.

Cameron rolled her eyes and moved past him to sit on the bed. "We were tired."

"Yuh huh." House commented sarcastically, evidently not believing her. "Well, you each owe me twenty five." He informed them, moving on to more important matters. "And I've made a decision."

Thirteen groaned and fell back on the bed next to Cameron. "Oh, no."

Cameron grinned.

"We're going to Kennywood for the day!" House announced gleefully. "You can't be in Pittsburgh and miss out on this opportunity!"

Thirteen sat back up, surprised. "Wow, that's way better than I was expecting!" she commented genuinely. Cameron nodded in agreement.

"Giant amusement park?? I'm in!"

House grinned in success. "Man, I'm so glad I picked you two!"

"Good. Now will you get out so we can shower?" Thirteen proceeded to herd him from the room.

"Yeah, yeah." House yawned, slowly making his way towards the door. He had barely made it out when Cameron grabbed Thirteen around the waist and dragged her into the bathroom, laughing as she went.

Half an hour later they were in Cameron's car, all singing along badly to songs as they drove towards the park, coffee in hand.

"Okay. So we have to plan this." House informed them, walking through the parking lot looking like a child in a candy store. "We want to make sure we fit in everything good."

"House, its noon and the park is open until ten." Cameron commented with amusement.

"Line ups, Cameron!" he rolled his eyes in mock frustration. "We need a game plan."

"Oh!" Thirteen's eyes glowed. "Can we start with that one…Phantom's something…"

"Phantom's Revenge?" Cameron asked, flipping through the guidebook to read the description.

"Yeah!"

Cameron grinned at the other woman. "You don't start out easy, do you?"

Thirteen shook her head.

"Okay." House conceded. "And then I want to do Swingshot. And then I guess Cameron can pick one."

"Hmm…" Cameron considered her options. "I definitely want to do the water ones…but how about Pitt Fall?"

House smiled, pleased with his ex-duckling's choice. "Good. So let's start with those three and go from there."

They bought tickets and entered the park.

"Guh. Do you have to have such high pitched screams?" House whined as they left Phantom's Revenge laughing.

Thirteen glared at him. "You know if you'd brought the guys you'd be in Kiddieland?" she retorted.

"No kidding. Can you see Foreman or Taub having done that?" Cameron snorted.

House begrudgingly agreed that the two girls were definitely the best fun of his co-workers on or off the team. "Swingshot?" he wheedled, changing the subject none-to-skilfully.

"Yeah." Cameron linked her arm through Thirteen's and they led the way towards the next ride, with House following afterwards hoping for the love of God that something sexy was happening between the two of them, for the sake of his sanity.

"So does this mean I can come in late tomorrow?" Thirteen question as she munched on some popcorn. "We're not going to get back till who-knows-when."

House pondered this for a minute. "When's your next shift, Cameron?"

"Tuesday morning." The other woman shrugged.

House grinned evilly. "Then I suggest we make the most of our ten pm closing time and drive back tomorrow." He raised eyebrows in their direction. There was no argument.

They left the park late, and at Cameron's suggestion aimed in the vague direction of New Jersey to find somewhere to eat and sleep. They ended up in a reasonably-sized town that at least managed to have a hotel instead of a motel, at House's insistence. After checking in, they ordered room service to House's room – including food, and (again at House's insistence) a video game console, because he claimed to want to challenge them both.

Thus how all three of them ended up drunk and screaming at a tv screen at two-o-clock in the morning. By this point, there was no doubt in House's mind that something was going on between the two women. Drunk, their flirtatiousness was obvious. He was pleased. Two of the hottest women in the hospital hooking up made him just plain ecstatic.

"So. You and Thirteen." House dropped the bomb not long after they were back on the road to NJ with Thirteen asleep in the back seat. Cameron looked over at him in panic.

"Fuck." Was all she could muster up.

"Cheating on your loving boyfriend." House tut-tutted, enjoying himself far too much.

"Like you care." Cameron muttered under her breath.

"You're right. I don't" House agreed. "I think it's awesome."

"Great." Cameron smiled tightly. "So you'll keep quiet so it keeps being awesome, right?"

House frowned. He'd been hoping for some form of bribery. Eventually he sighed. "Yeah."

"Hey, Rob!" Cameron called as she entered their apartment.

"Hi Allison!" He came out of the kitchen smiling. "So House roped you into Kennywood?"

She nodded. "It was pretty great."

He nodded. "I can imagine. Come have some wine and tell me about it while I cook." Cameron smiled. A quiet night was _just_ what she needed after her weekend.


	5. Less Becomes More

"It's been…" Cameron breathed, cut off as Thirteen slammed her body back against the door of the supply closet, attacking Cameron's lips with her own. "…too long." She finished as she surfaced for air.

Thirteen chuckled. "Al, it's been about three hours." She bit at the other doctor's neck, her fingers sliding under Cameron's scrubs and shirt to dance across smooth skin.

Cameron nibbled her ear affectionately. "Three hours too long." She joked quietly.

She received a lopsided grin. "If you had your way we'd be in bed 24/7."

Cameron nodded. That sounded about right. "We could take breaks to order in food and alcohol." She captured Thirteen's lips in her own. "Speaking of which, what time are you off? Rob is out with the guys."

"Seven." Thirteen grinned. "My house?"

"Mmm hmm." Cameron murmured, her hands occupied with sliding the other woman's waistband down her legs, followed by boyshorts.

Thirteen moaned as Cameron's tongue and fingers teased her delicately. She tangled her hands in the blonde's hair pulling hard as she tried to be quiet. Cameron enjoyed her struggle far too much, and the encounter ended with Remy on one of the shelves with Cameron's head between her legs as she tried to keep from screaming, her knuckles shoved in her mouth. "Fuck." She whimpered finally, as Cameron's eyes sparkled up at her mischievously. "You are a _naughty_ girl, Allison Cameron."

Cameron snorted. "And who taught me, Rem?"

Thirteen pulled her in for a deep kiss. "Whoever it was, she must have been good."

Cameron chuckled. "We should get back."

Thirteen located her pants. "I'll meet you in the lobby?"

"Just after seven." Cameron flashed her a smile as she fixed her hair and then was gone, back to reality.

They wound up watching episodes of 30 Rock over Indian food and beer, giggling immaturely like a couple of teenagers in pyjamas on Thirteen's couch.

Later, as she smiled at Cameron passed out naked next to her on her bed, completely at peace, she called Chase.

"Hey Chase. Listen, your girlfriend is passed out on my couch. Do you care if she stays over?" She couldn't help but smile at Chase's innocence as he thanked her for calling to let him know.

Cameron murmured something unintelligible and wrapped her arms around Thirteen's waist, snuggling into her warmth. Thirteen pulled the blankets over them both, curling herself around the other woman. There was something so honest and pure about Cameron's blunt words and actions that she couldn't help but be attracted to. The woman was so caring and kind, so incredibly _good_, and yet here she was, naked next to Remy, cheating on her boyfriend, exposing a completely opposite side of herself. It was interesting, and Thirteen loved interesting. She kissed Cameron's hair gently, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Cameron woke up slowly, stretching as she opened her eyes to the light. Realising where she was, she shot upright. "Shit!" she yelped. Turning to Thirteen, she ran fingers gently down the brunette's arm. "Rem?"

Thirteen groaned. "What, Al?"

"We fell asleep." She looked around the room for her phone, locating it beside the bed. "I have to call Rob. Shit!"

Thirteen yawned. "Calm down. I told him you fell asleep on the couch and were staying over."

Cameron stopped half way through dialling the number. "Oh." She snapped the phone shut. "Thanks."

"You looked so peaceful. I couldn't wake you." Thirteen claimed sarcastically, although it was true. "Now come back to bed." She reached out her arms for the other woman. Cameron sank into them comfortably.

"Mmm-kay" she murmured, kissing Thirteen's ear as she snuggled into her. "Thanks, Rem." She said again. The other woman was already asleep. Cameron smiled and drifted back into sleep herself.

Later, they made breakfast. Pancakes, fresh fruit, coffee. Cameron showered and changed into some of Thirteen's clothes before coming to sit on the small deck with a cup of coffee and her breakfast. She briefly considered the fact that sex with Remy had developed into more. Her relationship with the other woman had become more natural to her than her relationship with Chase. It was okay for it to develop into more than just sex. She didn't feel threatened. "You look comfy." A freshly showered Thirteen broke into Cameron's thoughts as she appeared, carrying her own plate and coffee.

"It's beautiful out here." Cameron smiled, squinting her eyes against the sun.

"Mmm." Thirteen tore off a piece of pancake and nibbled it contently as she drank her coffee. Cameron watched her in amusement as she neatly made her way through her own plate with a knife and fork. "What?"

The edges of Cameron's mouth were tilted upward in poorly contained laughter. "Nothing" She deadpanned "Nothing at all."

Thirteen raised her eyebrows and continued to eat her pancakes in the previous fashion. "Chase is working today, right?" she questioned eventually. Cameron nodded. "So what you want to do?"

Cameron was amused by the fact that it was a given they would spend every Chase-free moment together. "Lake?" she suggested. "It's so nice out." They wandered to the park hand in hand, unconcerned that they would run into someone they knew. They lazed in the sun, like cats, until it began to set, exchanging kisses like a new couple. "I should go soon." Cameron murmured eventually, her voice tinged with regret.

"Yeah." Thirteen stood and pulled her up. "We should head back." She wrapped an arm around Cameron's shoulder, leaning her head against it. "I miss you when you're gone, you know." She admitted quietly.

"I miss you too." Cameron whispered even more quietly.


	6. The Potential for Something

Lisa Cuddy watched her hospital with a careful eye, and took great pride in knowing every piece of gossip floating around as it gave her an advantage in controlling situations before they escalated. Which is why she was surprised when she saw Dr. Cameron step out of a supply closet, followed minutes afterwards not by Chase, but Thirteen. That was definitely something no-one had discovered yet. Not even House had been making crude comments. That thought made her pause. Perhaps there was nothing going on. But she began to watch the two more carefully.

Chase watched in frustration as Allison joked with Thirteen across the cafeteria. She hadn't even bothered to come and check if he wanted coffee! He was glad his girlfriend had found a friend in the other doctor, but it certainly seemed to take up a lot of her time and attention. Attention that he wanted. When Foreman joined them, he decided that was his cue to head over too. "Hey everybody!" he smiled at the group.

"Hey, Rob" Cameron smiled up at him, seeming like she was happy to see him. He couldn't help but notice Thirteen looked a little pissed.

Chase sat. "My surgery got cancelled tonight, so I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner."

Cameron's face fell a little. She gestured to Thirteen. "Rem and I made plans since you were busy."

Remy squeezed her hand under the table.

"Oh." Chase's frustration grew.

Foreman noticed the mounting tension at the table. "We could all do something." He suggested, trying to diffuse the situation.

Cameron nodded. "That would be good." She looked between Thirteen and Chase. "Right guys?"

Thirteen smiled at her. "Sure!" she was disappointed at losing her private time with Ally, but it was better than getting into a fight with Chase.

Chase nodded stiffly and stood. "I should get back."

Cameron saw the look on his face and squeezed Remy's hand, standing too. "I'll walk you." She let him wrap an arm possessively around her waist.

"What the hell was that?!" Foreman asked Thirteen as the pair left the room.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "No idea." She lied.

Chase and Cameron were standing in the doctor's lounge arguing when Cuddy came in.

"You're spending too much time with her."

"I thought you'd be happy I'm making friends." Cameron threw back at him, crossing her arms.

"You spend _all_ of your free time with her. I never see you anymore."

"What? And you never go out with your friends?" Cameron demanded. "We have different shifts, Chase. We have our own lives. That's a _good_ thing. If tonight hadn't been so last minute, I would have loved to go out for dinner. As it was, I thought you were busy."

Chase sighed. He saw her point. "I know tonight was last minute, but you always seem to be with her."

Cuddy coughed, making her presence known. Cameron turned red. "H-how long have you been there?" she questioned, embarrassed.

"Well, I could hear you from the hallway." Cuddy admitted, looking down.

"Oh, God." Chase muttered. "I should go." he left the room hurriedly, leaving Cameron with Cuddy.

"I should get back too." Cameron pointed out.

"Just a moment." Cuddy moved to sit on the back of a chair. Cameron paused, leaning back against the table in the centre of the room.

"Yes?"

"Cameron…" Cuddy started. "You and Dr. Hadley aren't exactly subtle. That's all I'm going to say."

Cameron looked at her levelly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Right." She sighed, and eyed her younger co-worker. "Just make sure you don't make a decision you might regret. I'm not going to try and tell you what is right for you, but you'll lose one of them eventually. Make sure it's the right one." She stood and left the room, leaving Cameron to ponder her words.

A few hours later a group of four sat in a bar, trying very hard to make civil conversation. Chase was making the possibility virtually nil, refusing to leave Cameron out of any tiny comment he made. Cameron, in the meantime, was attempting to divide her time evenly between Remy and Robert, who were sitting on either side of her. Thirteen was being very polite, just letting Chase do his thing as he kept his arm possessively around Cameron's shoulders at any cost. She didn't have anything to prove. Evidently Chase felt he did. Foreman, being Foreman, just tried to keep up a steady flow of pleasant conversation, despite the evident tension at the table. Finally, Chase went to the bathroom. Cameron laid her forehead on her arms and sighed. "Can I go home now?" she murmured quietly. Remy petted her hair gently.

"What's going on with him?" Foreman asked her quietly.

"Apparently he's concluded that Remy here is competition."

Foreman looked between the two of them in confusion. "He's acting like this because you're _friends_?" They both nodded. "God, I need to talk some sense into him." Foreman stalked off towards the bathroom.

Cameron relocated her head to Remy's shoulder. "I just wanted a nice, stress-free evening." She sighed. Remy kissed her hair gently.

"Me too, Al."

"We're going." Cameron announced when the two men arrived back at the table, standing up.

"We haven't even ordered food yet." Chase replied in confusion.

She looked him in the eye. "I'm going to get some with Remy. You're making this night _unbearable_. Not to mention ditching me with Cuddy this afternoon." She turned at walked away from the table, heading for where Thirteen waited outside. She hadn't wanted to be part of the scene.

Chase went after her. "Allison, wait."

She stopped, but didn't turn to face him. "Goodnight, Rob." The tone in her voice was final, angry.

"You're losing her." Foreman warned as Chase sat back down at the table.

"No_, really_?" Chase replied, sarcastic and bitter.

Foreman chose, sensibly, to stay silent.

"Man, I love sushi." Cameron offered Thirteen a piece of California roll with her chopsticks. Remy took it, grinning.

"It is fun." She agreed, munching. "Though I feel we may have over-ordered." Their table was covered by several different rolls, tempura, and a bowl of udon.

Cameron shrugged. "I like leftovers."

"Mmm. True." Thirteen pulled the bowl of soup towards herself. "Plus I'm starving."

Cameron took a long pull of her beer.

Later, lying with Remy's head in her lap, she sighed. "I hate this." She murmured as she stroked the other woman's hair. Remy stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. "I hate that he feels like he owns me. That he's being possessive because he thinks I have a friend, not even because he suspects it's anything more."

"He's just afraid of losing you." Remy commented.

Ally smiled bitterly. "But he's pushing me farther away. He's losing me by trying to keep me."

"I know, sweetheart." Remy captured Ally's hand and pulled it to her mouth, kissing her knuckles gently.

They didn't do anything that night but lie on the couch, each wrapped in her own thoughts and taking comfort in the other's presence. "Let's take a bath." Ally suggested eventually. She loved Remy's huge tub.

"Okay." Remy lay on the couch, watching as Ally got everything set up – grabbing candles from Remy's room, putting music on, finding the bubble bath she'd bought. Then she wandered into her bedroom, calmly removing her clothing and made her way to the bathroom.

Ally smiled as she came in. "I love it when you wander around naked." She kissed the brunette sweetly and offered her a hair elastic.

Remy climbed into the steaming bubbles first so Ally could lay back against her before watching Ally slide out of the large t-shirt she was wearing. It felt very voyeuristic, and she enjoyed it. Ally slipped in in front of her and lay back against Remy's chest, sighing with pleasure. "Oh, this is perfect." She murmured happily.

Remy wrapped her arms around the other woman. "Yes it is." She leaned her chin on top of Ally's head. Ally flipped in her arms so she was sideways, with her head on Remy's shoulder.

"I think I might be falling in love with you." She whispered.

Remy was thunderstruck. "In love?" she squeaked. "With me?"

Ally chuckled. "I know. Why would I go and do that, right?" she joked, kissing the brunette's neck. Remy tried to calm down a little. Ally started looking a little concerned. "Er, Rem? You're kind of turning purple."

Right. Breathing was important. "No-one's ever said that to me before." Remy admitted quietly.

"Oooh." Ally nodded in understanding. She kissed Remy's lips gently. "Well, I'm glad to be the first."

Remy smiled, suddenly shy. "Me too, because I've never felt like this before, either." Ally grinned and wrapped her arms around her, cuddling back into her shoulder and managing to get bubbles everywhere.

Ally's fingers lightly stroked across Remy's skin as she removed the white towel from around her, her arms moving to take its place as her lips brushed their way gently down Remy's shoulder blades. Remy turned, catching Ally's lips with her own as she backed towards the bed. She sat down on the edge, guiding Ally so she knelt, her legs on either side of Remy's own. She kissed Ally's neck, her shoulders. She tasted of rose soap. They moved quietly, with care. They made love. Slowly, sweetly, Remy reached her climax. Smiling and happy, Ally found hers.

Neither was sure when things had changed. When things had moved from compatibility, fun, and friendship, had blossomed into a relationship…and then into this. Into love. Lying comfortably entwined in Remy's pale blue sheets, it didn't seem to matter that there was a world outside the one they created here for themselves, though they knew they'd have to return to it eventually. But for now they lay, arms around one another, and blissfully awaited sleep.


	7. Through Glass Walls

He found her in a room in the ER, charting. She looked so peaceful he almost didn't want to disturb her. Sighing, he went inside. "You didn't come home last night." He said, wounded.

Cameron's eyes flickered up from her charting briefly. "No." she replied shortly, returning her attention to the paper in front of her.

Chase sat down on the bed across from her, thinking. Cameron continued her work, ignoring him.

From through glass walls, House and Cuddy surreptitiously watched the scene play out. "Breaking up the perfect couple. That's talent." House sighed. "I have to admit Thirteen is good."

Cuddy sighed. "How long have you known about this?"

House shrugged. "Pittsburgh."

Cuddy's eyes widened. "_Pittsburgh_?" she repeated incredulously. House nodded. They turned back to watching the pair.

Cuddy called Thirteen into her office. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded as the younger woman closed the door behind her.

"I…What?" Thirteen was confused.

"Cameron." Cuddy paced behind her desk and then turned back to her. "Is this just kicks for you?" she asked, angry.

To her surprise, Thirteen looked hurt. "No." she admitted quietly.

Cuddy paused in shock. "No?" Thirteen shook her head. Cuddy motioned to the seat in front of her desk. Thirteen sat obediently. "Tell me." Cuddy requested.

Thirteen sighed. She knew she wasn't getting out of this without telling her superior what was happening. And it wasn't like Cuddy would tell anyone. "It started in Pittsburgh…" she began. "I never really got to know her before that. I think, back then, it was just Cameron blowing off steam."

Cuddy nodded. "Cameron does that."

Thirteen smiled. "Yeah. She does." She turned back to the story. "But we got along really well. It kind of turned into a friends with benefits sort of thing." She paused, looking up at Cuddy, who only gestured for her to continue. "It got more serious, in the last few months."

"Do you love her?" Cuddy asked gently.

"Yeah, I do." Thirteen looked down into her lap.

"And she…" Cuddy let the phrase hang.

Thirteen nodded. "She told me last night."

Cuddy sighed. "It was bound to happen at some point. There have been tensions in that relationship from the start." She looked up at Thirteen, her gaze suddenly more kind. "I'm glad you're happy, Dr. Hadley. I know…" she trailed off. "Never mind."

Thirteen shook her head. "It's alright." She smiled. "My life hasn't exactly been a happy one." She paused. "But then, neither has Ally's."

"Maybe you can help each other."

Thirteen nodded. "I think we already are."

Cuddy couldn't help but roll her eyes at Thirteen being corny. "Okay. Off you go."

Thirteen stood up. "Dr. Cuddy?" Cuddy looked up. "Thank you."

Cuddy smiled. "Good luck."

Ally slept at Remy's again that night, her anger at Chase having not dissipated enough to contemplate being polite to him. Remy seemed pensive as she munched on a spring roll. "What's up?" Ally questioned.

"I think Cuddy gave us her blessing." Remy informed her, confused.

Ally couldn't help but laugh. "What?"

"She pulled me into her office today and demanded to know what was going on. And I think we came out with her blessing." Remy seemed amused by the concept.

Ally nodded. "Wow. Considering how less-than-pleased she's been with the majority of my actions regarding colleagues, I'm impressed."

Remy smiled, reaching for a container of noodles across the table. "We should probably use plates, eh?" she commented.

Ally shrugged. "Then we'd have to do dishes."

"True."

Chase cornered Ally the next morning as she walked into the hospital with Remy. Grabbing her arm roughly, he pulled her away. "Hey!" Remy put a hand on his wrist. "Don't touch her like that."

"Excuse me?" Chase glared at her.

"She isn't your property. You're hurting her."

Chase let go of Ally's arm. "This is none of your business." He hissed.

"It is when you're hurting Ally." She replied, crossing her arms.

"Chase…" Ally interjected.

He raised his eyebrows. "_Chase_?"

Ally put a hand to her mouth. He'd been Chase to her again for a while now.

"Fine. I'll say it in front of both of you." Chase said grumpily. "How do you think it looks when you come to work with her, wearing her clothes?" he demanded.

"Like I slept at Remy's, which I did." Ally replied bluntly.

"And how do you think that looks for our relationship?"

"Like it's not doing so well." Ally crossed her arms. "Do you have a point? Because I need to get to the ER." She knew she was being callous, and that the fact that she'd fallen for Remy really wasn't Chase's fault, but at this point she really didn't care. Remy was just standing beside her, looking kind of awkward.

"Our relationship is falling apart, and you don't care!" Chase exploded.

"It's been doing that for a while now." Ally pointed out quietly.

"Yeah! Because of her!" Chase pointed at Remy, who jumped back a little, startled.

"No, _Rob_." Ally emphasised his name. "Because of _me_." She stopped, watching his face turn from anger to sadness. "This is over. I'm ending it."

"That's what you want?" he asked, more softly. She nodded. "Fine." He turned and stalked away, indignance evident in his stride. Ally looked after him briefly, thoughtful but not sad.

"So does this mean you'll move in with me?" Remy asked quietly, breaking into her thoughts.

Ally turned to her and smiled. "You're asking me to move in?"

Remy nodded, smiling back. "I mean, you don't have a place to live anymore…" she joked.

"I'd love to." Ally hugged her tightly and then took her hand. "We should probably go to work."

"Yeah." They headed for the change room to find scrubs.


	8. Hablas Español?

_A/N: I'm glad people are enjoying ____ Thanks for the reviews!!! I figured I should probably address Thirteen's Huntington's at some point…Also, not really following the show storyline. Artistic license, right?_

"You know this won't be perfect forever, right?" Remy asked, propped up on her arm in the bed, watching Cameron get undressed.

"What do you mean?" Ally turned to her, frowning.

"I'll start deteriorating at some point." Remy said bluntly. "You're literally going to watch me fall apart."

Ally nodded. "I know." She murmured softly.

"Are you sure that's something you want to deal with?" Remy asked her honestly.

Ally frowned at her, coming to sit on the bed. "Would I be here if I wasn't prepared to cope with it?" She examined Remy's face carefully. "Do you think I'd just disappear when things get bad? I've been here before."

Remy looked down. "I'm just afraid." She admitted. "I've never…"

Ally wrapped her arms around her gently. "I'll be here, Rem. No matter what happens."

Ally had finally gotten all of her stuff moved in. It may have taken her two weeks of visits in which she avoided Chase at any cost, making sure to head to the apartment only when she was sure she was on duty, but she'd finally done it. Her stuff was all at Remy's. Or, as she now referred to it: _Home_. Ally smiled.

Foreman wasn't speaking to either of them when he could avoid it, having found out that he took their side against Chase without knowing what was really going on.

House was ecstatic and made no attempt to hide it. While they tried to be discreet, he had developed a habit of appearing whenever they were having coffee or lunch and announcing to whoever was present that they were lesbians. They had both concluded it was easier to find it amusing, especially as Taub and Kutner had decided to follow suit.

Chase wandered around the hospital glaring at basically everyone, his face turning an interesting shade of puce anytime someone mentioned one of their names, which House also seemed to enjoy taking advantage of, especially after he managed to get Chase to explode in front of Cuddy one day.

In the meantime, Ally and Remy seemed to exist in a vacuum that no-one could break into. After much discussion, they had agreed to enjoy the time they had to it's fullest until Remy's symptoms started appearing. They would need to start coping soon enough.

"If you had to pick one place in the world to visit, where would it be?" Ally questioned. They were sitting on the balcony wrapped in blankets as they watched the stars.

"Hmmm." Remy thought for a while. "Somewhere different. Somewhere with lots of history. Egypt? Latin America?" she turned to Ally. "You?"

"Somewhere warm." Ally laughed. "There are so many places I want to see." She looked at Remy, eyes twinkling. "¿Hablas español?" (_Do you speak Spanish?)_

Remy chuckled. "Poquito, y muy mal." (_A little, and very badly.)_ Ally snuggled up to her under the blankets.

The next day, she called Dr. Cuddy and asked a favour.

"Rem!"

Remy turned to see her girlfriend running towards her with flushed cheeks. "What's up, Al?" she chuckled, kissing her.

"I have a surprise." Ally was glowing. Remy raised an eyebrow. "Close your eyes." Remy rolled them once before obeying. "Hold out your hands." Ally instructed.

Remy complied and felt paper being placed into them. Her eyes fluttered open. Two plane tickets rested in her hands. "What's this?" she asked, a smile growing on her face.

Ally was beaming. "We're going to Mexico!"

Remy's mouth couldn't help but drop a little. "W-when?" was all she could come up with.

"Next weekend. I've booked us each 10 days off."

Remy was simply dumbstruck. "Wow." She moved forward slowly to envelope Ally in a giant hug. "Oh my God." She whispered, a smile growing on her face. "We're going to Mexico."

"So where exactly is Cuernavaca?" Remy questioned as she attempted to fit everything she needed into her bag.

"An hour or so from Mexico City." Ally replied. "It's a good location to get to lots of interesting places from. Not to mention all the historical stuff there."

"Do you have an itinerary planned?" Remy raised an eyebrow, chuckling.

Ally blushed. "Sort of."

Remy wandered over to wrap her arms around the other woman. "So what are we doing?" she questioned, moving Ally's hair aside to kiss her neck.

"Mmm." Ally leaned back to give her better access. "I don't think I'm going to tell you."

Remy rolled the computer chair away from the desk to straddle Ally's lap. "Oh?"

"Well, there's rather a lot of time on the plane where we can't be having sex, you see."

Remy smiled into Ally's neck. "You don't want to join the mile-high club?"

"I'm trying to give up illegal activities." Ally joked, raising Remy's chin so she could kiss her.

They arrived in the city at about 10 pm, dropping off their bags at the hotel before wandering into the zocalo to locate an interesting looking restaurant.

"This is amazing." Remy couldn't stop grinning and looking around them. They were in a little Italian place they'd found, a converted house with a giant garden full of tables.

"So do you want to know the itinerary now?" Ally teased her, reaching for her hand over the table.

"Give me the first couple of days." Remy sipped her glass of wine.

Ally grinned. "Well, tomorrow we're going to explore the city. There's a beautiful waterfall apparently, called the Salto de San Anton, and apart from that I thought it would be fun to just wander around the market and stuff."

Remy nodded. "Sounds great."

"And on Sunday, we're going to Las Estacas, a giant natural spring, to have a nice relaxing day. I figured the pyramids and caves and stuff would be less busy during the week."

Remy grinned. "We're going to see caves?"

"Yup. And to Tenochtitlan and Taxco, and Mexico."

"Wow."

Ally glowed again, squeezing her hand. "I'm so excited!"

Remy leaned in and kissed her across the table. "Me too."


	9. Blue Eyes

Remy laid her head against Ally's as the other woman slept on her shoulder on the plane home. The trip was undoubtedly the sweetest thing that anyone had ever done for her before. Vaguely she considered calling her father to tell him she had someone as wonderful as Ally in her life. He would be happy. She'd never been able to make him happy, though she'd tried. It was why they didn't talk anymore. She smiled gently as Ally let out a little snore. Ally would definitely make him happy.

"Al?" Remy turned to her from her spot in the driver's seat at a red light. "I have something I want to ask."

"Sure."

Remy bit her lip. "It's a pretty huge favour."

Ally smiled. "And…?"

Remy started driving again as the light turned green. "I want to tell my dad about you. I'd like him to meet you."

Ally's eyes widened. "Okay…"

Remy looked at her sideways. "Never mind." She said quickly, sadness tingeing her voice. "It was silly. Just never mind." Inside she was crushed.

"No." Ally assured her. "It's not that I don't want to meet him. I just…" she paused and took a deep breath. "I can't return the gesture. I don't talk to my family."

"Oh." Remy laughed with relief. "Me neither, really. I just think my dad would like you."

Ally blushed. "Oh. Then sure, if it's what you want." She put her hand on Remy's leg gently.

Remy nodded. "Yeah."

She called her dad as soon as they got in, leaving Ally in the living room so she could hide in the privacy of the bedroom in case things went badly. She chewed her lip anxiously as the phone rang.

"Hello?" her dad's voice echoed across the line.

"Dad." She said with relief. "It's me."

"Remy?" he asked in confusion. "What's wrong?"

She smiled. "Nothing's wrong. I'm actually really happy." She replied honestly.

She could virtually hear him frowning. "So…" he trailed off.

"I have someone I'd like you to meet."

"Really?" Her dad was evidently surprised. "How long have you been seeing this guy that you actually want to introduce me? Are you married? Pregnant?"

Remy blushed, rolling her eyes. Her dad was still her dad. "No. And, actually, I've been seeing _her_ for a little over a year now."

"Her." Her dad sighed.

Remy's heart sunk. "Yes, her. I'm bisexual, Dad. I don't think it's changing anytime soon." She replied grumpily. Her dad had never gotten over that little piece of information.

"Over a year, you say?" he questioned.

"Yeah." Remy smiled at the thought. "And Dad…I think you'd like her."

She heard another sigh. "Where did you meet?"

"She works with me at the hospital. She's the head of the ER."

"And she knows…"

"Yeah."

"Hmm." He murmured gruffly. "Well, it's not often you ask me for anything, Rem. So if this girl makes you happy, I'll meet her."

Remy let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding. "Thank you."

"When do you want me to come?"

Remy smiled. "Whenever you like. I'll even pay for the ticket."

"I'm paying." He replied firmly. "I'll let you know when I've booked something."

"That sounds great."

"Bye, Remy."

"Bye, Dad." Remy hung up the phone and chuckled to herself. He was old-fashioned, but in the end her father was a good guy. She headed back out into the living room.

Ally looked up, a question in her eyes. Remy nodded, grinning. "Yay!" Ally jumped up off the couch to hug her. "When's he coming?"

"He's going to let me know."

"Good." Ally kissed her gently, pulling her back to the couch.

They picked her father up at the airport a few days later. "Dad!" Remy called as he came out, waving the hand that wasn't holding Ally's. Her father waved back, heading in their direction.

"Rem!" he smiled, hugging her tightly.

Remy pulled back pulling Ally forward. "Ally, this is my father, John Hadley. Dad, this is my girlfriend, Allison Cameron."

They shook hands. "Ally, please." Ally smiled at the tall, thin man who had his daughter's eyes.

"Well, aren't you a picture." He examined her quietly. "What'd my little girl have to do to get you?"

Ally blushed. "I'm sure you know as well as I do how wonderful Remy is." She murmured.

Now it was Remy's turn to blush. She cleared her throat. "Shall we get your bags?" she asked her father.

He nodded. "And then some lunch would be nice."

"We were thinking we'd go out to eat, if that's all right?" Ally piped up.

John Hadley was surprised by the change in his daughter since the last time he'd seen her. In university she'd been a sullen little thing who'd gone out partying all the time. He'd always wondered how she managed to get into medical school. Just smart like her mother, he supposed. Ally he found delightful. Evidently intelligent and kind, he brought out the bright side in his daughter. Neither of them ever stopped smiling, it seemed. "So Ally," he started. "My daughter tells my you're the head of the ER at PPTH."

Ally nodded. "I used to work for Dr. House too, but I quit and Dr. Cuddy ended up hiring me back as the head of the ER. How about yourself?"

"I'm retired now, but I used to be an accountant."

Ally smiled. "My father's an accountant."

"How about the rest of your family?" John questioned, blue eyes watching her.

"My mom doesn't work. My brother's a software designer in California. Kind of a computer genius."

"Do you keep in touch with them?"

Ally shook her head. "I don't."

"But Ally just took me on a trip to Mexico!" Remy broke in excitedly, trying to change the subject to something a little less awkward. Ally smiled at her, stroking her hand gently. John noticed the gesture and couldn't help but be happy that Remy had found someone to care for her as he had cared for her mother.

"Wow. Where were you?"

"Remy wanted to go somewhere with lots of history, so we went to Cuernavaca since it's so close to so many amazing sites." Ally explained shyly.

"You have to come and see the pictures, Dad, its amazing!"

John nodded slowly. "I'd like that." He'd never left the US.

Ally found she liked the quiet, calm man who was such an opposite from his daughter. They made for an interesting but surprisingly compatible pair. They balanced each other out without getting on each other's nerves.

After lunch, they headed back to the apartment and spent the afternoon showing John photos of the trip to Mexico over beer, eventually ordering in food for dinner. Ally stayed up talking with him long after Remy had fallen asleep.

"I should probably get back to the hotel, if you don't mind calling me a cab." John commented quietly, finishing another beer.

Ally shook her head. "I've only had two" she gestured to the beers "I can drive you."

"that would be very kind, thank you."

He turned to her calmly outside the hotel. "I hope you don't mind my saying this, Ally, but I'm glad Remy found you."

Ally shook her head. "Not at all. Thank you."

He held up a hand, stopping her. "It will break your heart, watching her fall apart." He warned. "You should know that."

Ally smiled sadly. "John, I lost my husband when I was only 22. I watched him die of cancer during the first months of our marriage." She looked up at him, her blue eyes meeting his. "I've been here before. I'll be here for Remy as long as she needs me."

He nodded silently and climbed out of the car. "Thank you, Ally. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night." She smiled in return.

Climbing into bed and wrapping herself around Remy, she knew it was true. No matter how long they had or how much it hurt, she wasn't going anywhere.


	10. You Only Live Once

Remy started calling her father more after his visit. It was nice to rebuild a relationship with him, and she knew he and Ally enjoyed talking too.

"I'm off." Ally informed the nurse standing at the desk in the ER, who smiled at her.

"Good night, Dr. Cameron."

Ally smiled in return, making her way out of the ER and down to Diagnostics to check if Remy was still around. The whole team was still at the table, doing a differential. Ally pushed open the door and walked in. House looked over at her from the whiteboard. "Your girlfriend can't leave yet."

Ally shrugged. "Just stopped in to say hi." House turned back to the whiteboard.

"So what explains all of these?" They all eyed the board.

"Nutritional deficiency." Remy said immediately.

"Nervous system disorder." Ally put in.

"Allergies." Kutner said triumphantly. Remy rolled her eyes as House pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Kutner, you get to run blood tests." He informed the doctor. "Cameron, you go away."

Ally grinned. "Okay, okay."

"See you later." Remy mouthed through the glass wall as she walked off down the hallway. Ally nodded.

…

"Your dad called." Ally put some leftover pasta and sauce in a dish and popped it in the microwave.

"How is he?" Remy called from the bedroom, abandoning her stuff on the bed.

"He sounds well." Ally smiled. "He was in a good mood. Wanted you to call back."

Remy nodded as she re-entered the kitchen. "I'll call after dinner." She poured herself a glass of wine. The microwave beeped and Ally pulled her meal out and set it on the table.

"I already ate." She explained. "I was starving." She poured herself a glass of wine and sat down, motioning for Remy to join her.

….

Remy walked into the relatively quiet ER, looking for Ally to drag her off to lunch. She'd been pulling double shifts a lot lately, and Remy doubted she stopped to think about food very often.

She stopped abruptly as she saw Ally sitting beside one of the beds with a little girl on her lap while the child's parents watched, smiling, the mother in the hospital bed. She was bouncing the child up and down while she said some sort of silly rhyme and the girl giggled happily. Remy observed her carefully, how natural she looked with a child in her lap, and how happy. Ally looked up and noticed her, smiling. Remy waved and approached. "Hey." She greeted.

"Hi." Ally grinned at her. "Say 'hi' to Remy, Shauna." She told the little girl in her lap, turning her around.

"Hewwo." The blond child said shyly.

"Hi Shauna." Remy knelt down in front of her. "How old are you?" Shauna held up two fingers solemnly. "Wow. That's very grown up." Remy smiled at the little girl, who smiled proudly in return.

"Did you come to find me for lunch?" Ally asked her.

Remy nodded, standing. "If you're not too busy, of course."

Ally shook her head. "I can come." She stood too, walking Shauna around the bed to her father. "I'm just going to go to lunch, but I'll come and check on you afterwards okay?"

"Thank you, Dr. Cameron." The woman in the bed smiled at her.

"I'll come see you later, okay Shauna?" Ally waved to the little girl, who waved back. Then she took Remy's hand and they headed out.

"She was just adorable." Remy commented, her gaze sliding sideways to watch Ally's face.

"Yeah." Ally chuckled. "I love kids. They're so innocent and uncorrupted by the world when they're that little."

"Not always." Remy pointed out.

Ally sighed. "Yeah." They walked into the elevator.

"Do you want kids?" Remy asked slowly.

Ally looked at her, surprised, and nodded. "At some point." Remy took that information in silently. Ally frowned. "What?" she questioned.

"I just…" Remy paused, then looked up at her. "You're thirty. I'd die while…" she trailed off.

Ally looked upset. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I shouldn't have."

"Yes you should." Remy told her quietly. "Neither of us can live life based on how I'm going to degrade in the future. We don't know how long I have left anyway. I'd rather experience the time I have left. "

Ally nodded silently and didn't reply. As they sat down at the table with their food she changed her mind. "What about you?" she asked.

Remy raised her eyebrows. "Kids?" Ally nodded in affirmation. "There's never been a point in my life when I could realistically consider it." Remy pointed out. "But hypothetically, yes, I've always wanted to have children."

"You could consider it now." Ally pointed out, her blue eyes boring into Remy's.

Remy's mouth dropped. "W-w-what?" she eventually stammered.

Ally shrugged. "You have me now." She looked down at her sandwich, picking it up slowly.

Remy continued to stare at her. "I…You…"

"Even if you have a more virulent form of Huntington's than your mother, most people don't develop symptoms until their thirties." Cameron looked up at her again.

"And my child would remember me like I remember my mother." Remy snapped.

"But she also left your father with a part of herself." Ally looked away. Remy's anger dissipated as quickly as it had flared up.

"There's a fifty percent chance my child would have Huntington's." she said quietly.

"And fifty percent it wouldn't." Cameron rebutted gently. "It would still be _your_ child." Her eyes pleaded.

Remy thought silently. Ally let her. It would have to be before her symptoms got bad, and they could start showing up at any time. She was 24. Onset of symptoms usually started between 35 and 45. She potentially had a lot of time left. She could have 10 good years with her child and Ally before she started showing symptoms. Maybe more. She nodded and took a deep breath. "Let's do it." She reached for Ally's hand. Ally was across the table and hugging her so fast she didn't have time to see it coming. Tears soaked through her scrubs. Ally was sobbing.


	11. Meeting Your Future

"You're gaining weight." House kept stride with Thirteen with difficulty. She rolled her eyes. She'd been wearing looser clothes and scrubs in the hope that he wouldn't notice.

"So sue me." She turned to face him. "What's your point?"

"Why are you gaining weight?"

"My girlfriend keeps feeding me." She replied sarcastically. "In other words, it's none of your business."

"Where are you going?"

"To an appointment. Can I leave now?" Remy glared at her boss as she entered the lobby. House saw Cameron waiting on the other side by the door and put two and two together.

"You're pregnant!" He accused, his eyes widening.

Remy sighed. He'd find out sooner or later. "Yes. Now can I go?"

"Yeah." House said thoughtfully. Remy rolled her eyes again and walked away.

"Thank you." She murmured under her breath.

"Ready?" Ally asked gleefully. Remy smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Yes." She wrapped an arm around her girlfriend. She was 16 weeks now, and she was hoping they'd be able to find out the baby's gender. It was still a bit early though.

….

Ally sucked in a breath as the picture came up. "Look!" she said excitedly to Remy, squeezing her hand. "Oh look!"

Remy chuckled. "You'd think you'd never seen an ultrasound before."

Ally kissed her cheek gently. "If it was up to me, we'd spend all our time looking at an ultrasound. We'd take a machine home and…"

"Okay, okay." Remy joked. She turned to the technician. "Can you tell the sex?"

He looked carefully at the screen. "Yes. It's a girl."

Remy grinned happily at Ally. They'd both secretly been hoping for a girl.

Back in the lobby of PPTH, they stayed with their arms around one another for a long time. "Want to go out to lunch to celebrate?" Remy suggested.

Ally nodded into her hair. "Definitely." She raised Remy's chin so she could kiss her gently. "This is amazing, Rem." She whispered.

"I know." Remy whispered back. She couldn't wait to tell her dad she was having a little girl.

Later that night, they set up the speaker phone to call him. "How did the ultrasound go?" her father's voice filtered into the room.

"Great." Remy smiled, leaning against Ally. "It was great, Dad."

"You should have been there, John." Ally put in, her eyes sparkling. "Our baby moving around on the screen…" she squeezed Remy tightly.

"Did you find out if it's a boy or a girl?" John asked.

"It's a girl!" Remy informed him excitedly.

Her father chuckled. "Good. I'm not sure what either of you would have done with a boy."

They grinned at one another. "Hey!" Ally feigned indignance. "We would have been fine!"

"I know you would." John told them calmly. "I'm just razzing you. So you're going to have to find an apartment with two rooms, eh?"

"Yeah." Remy sighed. "We haven't been having much luck to be honest. Especially near the hospital."

"You'll find something." He assured them.

…

"I guess we need to think about names." Ally murmured quietly, her hand on Remy's stomach.

"Yeah." Remy nodded. "Do you have any ideas?"

Ally leaned her head on Remy's shoulder. "I like Rowan and Evelyn."

"I like Robyn."

"I like Robyn too." Ally agreed. "It sounds happy." She yawned, snuggling closer to Remy under the blankets.

"I guess we have to see what suits her, in the end." Remy pointed out, turning so Ally could spoon around her.

"Mmm. I wonder what she'll look like." Remy could feel Ally smile into her shoulder as lips dusted across her skin.

"Dark hair, blue eyes." They'd specifically chosen a donor who had brown hair and blue eyes, each of their natural colours.

"I know, but…I just can't wait to meet her." Ally giggled.

"We've got a few months to go on that one." Remy smiled.

"Yeah." Ally sighed impatiently and hugged Remy to her. "I love you so much."

Remy interlaced her fingers with Ally's own, bringing them up so she could kiss Ally's hand gently. "About as much as I love you, I expect."

…

Much to her frustration, Remy arrived the next morning to a chorus of "CONGRATULATIONS!" from her colleagues in Diagnostics, plus Cuddy and Wilson. House had called that morning telling her to bring Cameron with her for a consult. She knew she was right to be suspicious. House just loved to piss her off. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm the others showed on their behalf. Ally was tickled pink and couldn't stop hugging everyone. "We wanted to wait until we knew the sex before telling anyone" Remy explained, a hand on her stomach.

"Did you find out?" Cuddy asked, her eyes glowing. Remy nodded, smiling.

"It's a girl!" Ally said, from her place behind Remy, arms wrapped around her waist and chin on her shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so excited for you!" Cuddy moved forward to hug them both again.

…

By the end of the pregnancy, neither of them could stop smiling they were so excited. They'd managed to find an apartment, which Ally had painted with Wilson's help, forbidding Remy from coming into the apartment until she could disperse any trace of the paint fumes. They picked out a cot, chairs for the room, rugs, toys…Anything and everything they could think of that the baby could possibly need. They hadn't planned on a baby shower, but Cuddy couldn't resist the urge to celebrate and surprised them with one anyway, as they came home one evening to find their new home filled with their co-workers, streamers, and cake.

Remy glowed. Ally satisfied her every whim, despite Remy's continued pleas that she didn't _really_ need things like chocolate brownies at two in the morning.

When the time finally came, all went smoothly, and their daughter was born at 6:32 a.m. after seven hours of labour, at PPTH. Robyn Cameron Hadley was 8lbs 3 oz, and absolutely perfect, they thought, curled up side by side in the hospital bed watching the newest member of their family sleep.

Curling into Ally sleepily, Remy smiled. This was one of the best decisions she'd ever made.


	12. In the End

In the end, the disease degraded her faster than either of them could have guessed. It wasn't long after their daughter's twelfth birthday that Remy Hadley took her last breath, lying with her daughter and girlfriend by her side in their home with the soft summer light filtering in through curtains that moved in the breeze.

….

"I have to know." Remy told her, lying in their bed one night. Ally slept with her until the end, not caring whether Remy's movements kept her awake, but rather wanting to spend every moment possible in her company.

"I know." Ally sighed. They'd agreed not to test Robyn through her childhood, but with Remy degrading so quickly, Ally understood that it was now time.

….

It had been a mutual decision to lie.

"I don't want her to know." Robyn looked up at Ally desperately as she clutched at the paper containing her results. "I want to fake it."

Ally sighed and closed her eyes. She wanted Remy to leave the world without the burden of guilt. Opening them again, she sat down across from her dark-eyed, dark-haired daughter. "Are you sure?"

Robyn nodded. "It isn't her fault." The twelve-year-old whispered. Ally ran a hand through her daughter's hair gently. She'd been raised around the hospital, understanding the gravity of the world. Understanding that one of her mothers was dying. She knew what death meant. She had seen it. Watched it happen. First to others, then to her mother as her symptoms began to show, get worse, and finally, to kill her. Now she knew that one day, she would experience that slow, painful, infinitely frustrating death herself.

Ally took her hand gently. "Alright."

…

Mother and daughter collapsed into one another sobbing.

She was gone.

…

It was Robyn who kept her alive after Remy was gone. It was Robyn who insisted that they both keep living. It was Robyn who refused to let her circle into self-destructive grief, telling her over and over that Remy wanted her to _live_. To experience life for her since she couldn't be there herself.

Lisa was amazing.

Robyn and Rachael went to the same school, so Lisa would pick both Ally and Robyn up at first, to make sure they got out of bed each morning. To make sure they ate. To make sure they kept on existing. She would come over at three in the morning when Ally couldn't stop sobbing and hold her until she fell asleep, setting Rachael up in the spare bed in Robyn's room.

At first they went through the motions of life, everything seeming hollow and dark. Eventually though, they began to see colour in the world. They helped one another find it each day in whatever they could.

Robyn found it in her voracious will to live each and every moment.

Ally found it in her ability to help others, just as she always had, working among her friends at PPTH.

They kept Remy alive in memories. In the photos scattered around the house. In their stories. In their jokes.

Ally saw her in her dreams each night, happy and whole, just as she'd always remember her.

In the end, they'd had sixteen infinitely happy years together. Even at the end, they'd still been just as in love as the first time they'd realised it. They were still so happy, despite Remy's endlessly degrading condition.

Remy's fears were never realised. Robyn never hated her as she had her own mother. On the contrary, she'd insisted on helping Ally with everything.

It was all those things that they chose to remember. All the happiness. The life they'd lived together, each and every day, to its fullest.

Fin.


End file.
